The Friday Five: Stop it right there!

Yesterday, Blackhawks television color analyst added another candle to his birthday cake. Today, we celebrate the illustrious career that secured this hometown hero’s place in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Here’s looking at you, Edzo.

1. Eddie was a part of the midget AAA team (Team Illinois) that won the 1982 USA Hockey national title.

The Palos Heights native played two years of hockey at Brother Rice before defeating future NHLers Pat LaFontaine and Al Iafrate of the Detroit Compuware team.

2. The youngest U.S. player at age 17, Eddie competed in the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo where he scored 9 points in 6 games.

After leaving Brother Rice, Eddie moved to Canada to play for the Stratford Cullitons junior team before joining the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

3. Olczyk was drafted by the Blackhawks third overall in the 1984 NHL Draft.

Eddie joined Mario Lemieux (PIT) and Kirk Muller (NJD) in the top three spots of the 1984 draft class.

4. Eddie is tied for the most points recorded in a game by a rookie in Blackhawks franchise history.

Olczyk registered four points (G, 3A) on March 17, 1985, against the Canucks in the Blackhawks 6-4 win in Vancouver. In his debut season with the Blackhawks, Eddie scored 20 goals and tallied 30 assists in 70 games.

During that time, he played for six different clubs (Chicago, Toronto, Winnipeg, New York, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh). Eddie had the unique opportunity to start and end his NHL career with his hometown team.